Paul here. If you remember, way back in April I donated blood, and blogged fondly of all the crackers and juice you could want. I was notified I could give again and thought it was a great idea to give I usually don't have a problem finding a vein, and doing something for others always feels great. Today when I arrived, they asked if I would mind giving plasma instead of blood. They need both, but they ask a random number of doners to give plasma and I figured, why not? They take your blood, filter out the plasma, and put everything else back in. Presumably it is less invasive, and you can give more often. However, the technician who poked me did not do a very good job, and it never felt right. They took about 1 pint, filtered it, but my arm hurt when the machine starting putting it back in me. They fiddled around a bit with the needle (a couple of times), but still could not get the stuff back in without pain. It sounds bad, but very quickly they determined we should abandon the procedure, so it really was not a big deal.
Plasma is used for countless medical procedures, from cancer and burn treatment, to research and many other uses. In fact, it is so valuable there developed a kind of "market" where drug companies pay handsomely for it, and generate huge profits from donated plasma. Based on the research I did quickly, it is mostly private companies who collect plasma for profit. In those cases, you have to be very careful since there is not much in terms of regulation and oversight for these facilities. I like to think the Red Cross's efforts to collect plasma is legitimate and honorable, but maybe I am being naive (?). In any case, I think I'll stick with donating blood next time. Maybe around Day 150 or so my vein will be healed.
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